Imagine two of the world’s most influential billionaires locked in a heated rivalry that’s just reignited, with one facing a staggering $1.5 billion hit to his wallet – talk about high-stakes drama in the tech world!
Elon Musk, the visionary behind Tesla, hasn’t let go of his grudge against Bill Gates for placing a bold bet against the electric vehicle giant. For those new to investing lingo, shorting a stock means you’re essentially wagering that its price will drop; if it rises instead, you end up owing money, sometimes in massive amounts. Gates’ initial multi-million-dollar gamble has since spiraled into a whopping $1.5 billion loss as Tesla’s shares have soared.
Fresh off a triumphant win where Tesla investors greenlit his enormous compensation package – potentially worth up to $1 trillion – Musk is parading his success and poking at his longtime foe. This ongoing spat traces back years, but Musk made it crystal clear it’s far from over in a recent social media update. ‘If Bill Gates hasn’t completely unwound that wild short bet he’s had on Tesla for about eight years, he’d be wise to do it ASAP,’ Musk warned in a post on Sunday, replying to someone who noted the Gates Foundation selling off Microsoft shares.
This jab revives a clash that first exploded publicly in 2022. Back then, reports surfaced that Gates had shorted Tesla stock to the value of around $500 million – a move that prompted a direct, no-holds-barred text from Musk. In a candid chat revealed through biographer Walter Isaacson’s book on Musk, Gates described Musk’s reaction as downright harsh. Musk straight-up asked if the short was real, and Gates owned up to it, even suggesting they discuss ways to collaborate on charitable causes, especially around global issues like philanthropy.
But Musk wasn’t buying it. He shot back in their exchange, explaining that he couldn’t take Gates’ climate-focused giving seriously while the Microsoft co-founder was financially rooting for Tesla – the very company leading the charge in sustainable energy and fighting climate change – to fail. To drive the point home, Musk later posted on X (formerly Twitter) with a cheeky jab at Gates’ physique, escalating the personal side of their tension.
Gates, ever the diplomat, brushed it off in interviews, insisting the investment choice was purely about spreading risk in his portfolio and had zero ties to environmental concerns. ‘I’ve got strategies for balancing my investments,’ he shared with the BBC. And despite Musk’s sharp words – which Gates chalked up to his rival’s general intensity toward others, advising not to take it to heart – Tesla has flipped the script dramatically.
We don’t know the exact start date of Gates’ short, but since that 2022 text exchange hit the headlines, Tesla’s stock has climbed at least 20%, and likely even higher based on the entry price. According to Isaacson’s biography, Gates was already down $1.5 billion when shares hovered around $400 each. Fast-forward to Monday, and the stock was sitting pretty at about $408 per share, widening that gap even more. But here’s where it gets controversial: Is Gates’ persistence in holding onto a losing bet a sign of stubbornness, or just smart diversification in a volatile market? Some investors swear by shorts as a hedge, while others see it as undermining innovation.
This renewed tension couldn’t come at a better time for Musk, whose fortune now tops $431 billion per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, solidifying his spot as the planet’s wealthiest individual for the foreseeable future. That shareholder-approved pay deal? It’s the biggest ever pitched for a CEO, tying Musk’s rewards – up to a trillion dollars – to hitting ambitious goals like propelling Tesla’s market cap to $8.5 trillion, dwarfing any other firm in history. Think about it: performance metrics that could make him the world’s first trillionaire, all while his company revolutionizes transportation and energy. And this is the part most people miss – while Gates bleeds money on his bet, Musk’s vision is paying off big time, but at what cost to their shared legacy in tech and philanthropy?
What do you think – should Gates pull the plug on his Tesla short before losses mount further, or is there wisdom in riding it out? And is Musk’s public call-out fair game in the cutthroat world of business rivalries, or does it cross into unnecessary territory? Drop your thoughts in the comments; I’d love to hear if you’re team Musk, team Gates, or somewhere in between!